The extraordinary bravery of a group of women in the 1930s inspired Maegan Azar to direct “These Shining Lives.”

The 2008 play, by Melanie Marnich, relates the true story of several female workers who took on a big company that was endangering their health.

“I was amazed at the women’s story — to go up against a major corporation,” said Azar, an assistant professor of acting and directing at Furman University.

“There was absolutely no precedent for an industrial case like this,” she added.

Azar’s staging of “These Shining Lives,” featuring six student actors who play 15 characters, is running at the Furman Playhouse through Feb. 22.

In the 1920s and 30s, four women work at an Illinois watch factory, painting the hour markings onto different sized watch dials. They use a radium compound which glows in the dark.

Their bosses at Radium Dial tell them there’s no evidence that radium is harmful, but the women develop various physical infections and disabilities. At great personal risk, they pursue a lawsuit against Radium Dial.

Azar said the play, which premiered in Baltimore, is based on two book-length accounts of the influential incident.

“It’s very accurate,” Azar said. “Not many people know about the Radium Dial workers, but their story has affected so much of what we know about radiation poison. They were the first mass case of radiation sickness in the world. Their legacy is any standard that has been set on radiation levels in industry or in the handling of radioactive material.”

The women were at first reviled but later recognized as heroes, Azar said.

“Everybody thought the workers were attacking this really great company but by the end of the trial sympathy had turned to them when the fact came out that they had been taken advantage of by Radium Dial,” Azar said.

The play is relevant to today’s public discussions about the environment, public health and conditions in the workplace, she said.

“With health care reform and so much going on in industrial health cases, it’s very timely,” Azar said.

For the latest in local arts news and reviews, follow Paul Hyde on Facebook and Twitter: @PaulHyde7.